


Protector

by cherrysprite



Series: Quarantine Fics [11]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Career, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Bodyguard Theo Raeken, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Good Theo Raeken, Hurt/Comfort, Liam's fiancee is a bitch, Love Confessions, M/M, Manipulative Relationship, Model Liam Dunbar, Photo Shoots, Protective Theo Raeken, Strangers to Lovers, Theo Raeken Loves Liam Dunbar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: Liam Dunbar is engaged to one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today, Ross Blake, and is all too ready to marry him until Theo Raeken, Ross's new bodyguard, comes along and shows Liam what he hadn't been seeing.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Quarantine Fics [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691383
Comments: 20
Kudos: 179





	Protector

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! Before starting, I'd like to give a TW for minor abuse in this story, but I don't want to spoil it in the beginning.   
> To put it in simple terms, there is minor abuse portrayed here, but nothing that involves anyone being seriously injured (I.E. no serious injuries like bleeding or broken bone).   
> If you want a more specific account of what happens and don't mind spoilers, please skip to the end notes.
> 
> With that being said enjoy reading :)

Liam had gotten used to a glamorous lifestyle in the past few years, a life full of expensive dinners that he had no trouble paying for, reservations for rooms at the finest hotels, and nights spent in clean pools of sparkling, heated blue water to calm the stresses of a full day of running around looking pretty. There were people who did double takes to look at him and phone cameras always pointing his way, eager to get proof that they saw him out in public, that they breathed the same air as him, even if most of them didn’t know his name. If he didn't notice small iPhone cameras, he certainly noticed the large, long-lensed professional cameras the paparazzi wore around their necks, and the flashing lights did nothing to hide them. Day and night, wherever he was, flashing bulbs were in his face to snap pictures of anything they could, and after awhile, Liam became accustomed to all the attention.

He knew that this was all more because of the big, shiny rock on his left ring finger that was given to him by one Ross Blake, but the motives behind people's attention didn't change the fact that it was there all the same. Liam understood the way things went for celebrity couples, most specifically the less-famous of the two; he'd seen it so many times with people like Camille Rowe and Harry Styles, Gisele and Tom Brady, and Gisele and Leonardo DiCaprio. Liam had three things in common with Camille and Gisele: they were models and they were their own people, the media thought they paled in comparison to their partners and portrayed them as such.

Liam tried not to complain. That was just a part of being with Ross, the movie star that so many people would kill to get a single glance from, so Liam had learned to be okay with having his separate, less-talked-about career to himself while he stood next to him on the red carpet. He wasn't sure he wanted all the fame that Rossl had, anyway; it was hard enough going out in public on his own, and if he stepped out with Ross, they could hardly go more than a foot without someone recognizing the star. It was at times like that that Liam was grateful that he wasn't a big-shot like his fiancee was. He could feel bad for Ross from afar, out of the limelight for the most part.

That being said, standing on the red carpet before an awards show was commonplace. There were tons of cameras with overwhelming flashes in their faces, but Liam just grinned and held onto Ross’s arm naturally. He knew by the drill by then; after the couple's pictures were taken, Liam went ahead without him so they could take pictures of Ross's arrival at the show without him there. They never took solo pictures of Liam. Who cared about the model, right? He was the arm candy.

Sometimes, that brought him down, but he was always reminded that it wasn't true when Ross came to find him after the photos were done being taken. "Hey," He said softly, sliding in next to Liam and squeezing his arm. "Everything alright so far?"

He was always reminded that Ross loved him, even if the media wanted to say that he didn't. Tabloids loved to say that Liam was a sugar baby or gold digger, using Ross for his money because the magazines always liked to exaggerate a five-year age gap, or that when they looked at Liam and Ross together, the love "simply wasn't there."  _ "You can see it in his eyes,"  _ people wrote about them online or in articles that somehow managed to be published,  _ "It seems so fake." _

Liam didn't see anything fake when he looked into Ross's deep brown eyes, and he didn't feel anything less than real when he slid a hand up onto his cheek, rubbing his thumb on his fiancee's signature dark stubble that matched his short black hair. People just didn't know what they were talking about. "I'm okay," Liam said with a smile, biting his lip when Ross slipped his arm around his waist to pull him close. "A little hungry."

"I'm sure dinner is soon," Ross said. "Just be careful. You have a shoot tomorrow, you don't want that metabolism catching up with you."

Liam forced a chuckle. "Of course not. I know what to do."

"Light on the meat, light on the wine, heavy on the greens," Ross said as if he hadn't reminded Liam a million times before when Liam's eyes got too big for his stomach like they were prone to. He was always looking out for him that way, just trying to help. "And a workout when we get home and tomorrow morning.”

"Sure thing," Liam said, walking where he was guided, a table towards the front of the event center. It was decorated lavishly with royal blues and golds, and the table was covered in a light white tablecloth that Liam was careful not to pull on as he sat down. Waiters were there quickly to take their appetizer order, and Liam followed the advice he was given and ordered the vegetable option. Ross ordered the shrimp. 

"I've already worked out today," Ross explained when Liam raised an eyebrow, but Liam just raised his hands in mock surrender. They both knew how Ross could get about his food. 

Ross was nominated for three awards that night, the general standard considering what big successes his last movies were with the box office and with audiences. He was the star, as always, in one of them, and had just as big of a role alongside Scarlett Johansson in another one. That being said, there was no one joining them that night, with the exception of Hugh, Ross's bodyguard who would be retiring soon.

Liam saw him across the way as he made his way to their table. "I'm going to miss Hugh," Liam sighed. "He was always so good to you."

"Yes," Ross agreed. "But he's not as young as he used to be. I hate to see him go, but he can't protect me like he should. You saw what happened at dinner last week, I was almost  _ attacked _ ."

Liam saw it more as a young fan wanting an autograph and less of a savage attack like Ross wanted to call it, but Liam wasn't about to say that. "Still, it was one mistake. Are you sure you want to let him go after  _ one _ mistake?"

"One mistake is the difference between me staying alive with you and giving what you need or being shot dead on the floor in the middle of a restaurant." Ross took a sip of his wine like that was at all the right thing to say, shutting Liam down entirely. He always knew how to get Liam to quit. “I’m sure you’d like that better, wouldn’t you?” Liam bit his lip.

"You  _ do _ make me sound like a sugar baby," Liam muttered under his breath, but Ross just laughed.

Hugh took a seat at their table, and it disheartened Liam. Hugh had always been so happy to serve them, but now he looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Liam supposed he would feel the same way if his agent had decided to fire him for something minor and then asking him to still sit down to dinner with him. It didn't exactly make for a fun night. "Good evening, Ross, Liam," Hugh said politely. "I'm sorry I couldn't ride with you here. My wife had a doctor's appointment. We found out the sex of the baby, it's a girl. I hope Harrison was an okay guide, being a trainee, and all."

"We were just talking about security," Ross said honestly before Liam could try and turn the subject to something else. "See, Theo will be a good fit. He has no conflict of interest, no kids to worry about. No distractions. He'll do just fine."

Hugh deflated slightly, and Liam tried not to think about it too hard.

"Theo?" Liam asked, trying to dispel the tension.

"Oh, he's younger, faster. Less experienced, though, which is why he was the secondary choice when I was hiring my first bodyguard, but he’s been through more training now. I think he’ll be perfect.”

Liam glanced over to Hugh, who was picking at his fingernail and looking down at the table. Ross hadn’t even referred to him by name, he was just “his first bodyguard.” "I'll miss having you around, Hugh," Liam offered genuinely, and Hugh gave a small, sad smile. "Congratulations on your daughter. You'll have to send me pictures. Keep me updated, alright?”

"Yes, we'll miss you," Ross said. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. If you were just a little more careful..." Ross ended his statement with a sip of his wine, and Liam and Hugh opted to sit in silence after that. They both knew it was better to leave it alone.

Ross ended up winning two out of the three awards and Liam spent the rest of that night in the ride over to Ross's house listening to Ross trying to be humble. "I mean, I understand why I was nominated, I just never expected to  _ win _ ..."

"Yes you did," Liam said gently with a laugh. Just like he had gotten used to fame and the industry, he'd gotten used to his fiancee even more. Yes, Ross had his problems; he could be pretentious and outright mean sometimes, but every man had their own set of challenges. And after all Ross had done for him, Liam was sure he was overreacting when he was mad at Ross for anything. Ross had the right to be a little snippy sometimes, even if it wore Liam down sometimes. 

They stepped out of the car and headed inside Ross’s mansion. Liam lived there already, and he loved it: the place was modern and sleek, mostly white with black accents and gold fixtures. It was big enough that Liam and Ross both had their own separate rooms if they wanted to get away, plus multiple guest rooms and a large suite for Ross’s main bodyguard to stay in, which Hugh had moved out of a few days ago to make room for the new guy. Liam’s favorite place was the garden, which was full of cut stone furniture and beautiful flowers and shrubs. He liked to sit out there whenever he could.

That was where Ross lead him to see a man who was sitting on his phone, clearly waiting for them. “Theo,” Ross said, and the man looked up, revealing bright green eyes and long eyelashes, already dressed in a button-down white shirt and ready for the job. He stood up as Ross and Liam approached. “Welcome to the top position.”

Theo chuckled, shaking Ross’s hand. “That’s one way to refer to it,” He said in a slightly raspy voice with a smile. 

“I’m sure you’ll be ready to begin first thing tomorrow morning?” Ross checked. Theo nodded firmly, seeming set in his ways. “Good. I’ll need you ready to go by six o’clock for filming, and by ready, I mean ready to get in the car and start driving at six. Are we clear?”

“Clear,” Theo confirmed with another nod, and Ross finally smiled.

“Good man. Alright, I’m heading up to bed,” Ross said, kissing Liam on the cheek and walking into the house, leaving LIam alone with Theo. He had forgotten to introduce him, so Liam stood there awkwardly.

Theo smiled at him, clearly understanding his discomfort. “Theo Raeken,” He said, holding out a hand for Liam to shake. Liam took it gratefully, noticing how warm and calloused but soft it felt. “Good to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Liam said, giving him a polite smile in return as he dropped his hand. “You’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill, just letting you know that now. Ross is...high-matinence, and Hugh was a friend of ours. I loved the guy,” Liam said. Theo laughed softly.

“You don’t think you’ll love me?” He asked amusedly, and Liam couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Don’t know yet. Maybe you’ll get into my good graces.”

“Yeah, maybe.” They looked at each other for a few seconds, Liam thinking nothing of it. Theo looked at his watch. “It’s getting late, I should probably get to bed, unless you need anything first?”

Liam was admittedly surprised at the offer. Hugh had helped him out all the time, but he barely knew Theo. “Oh. No, you can go, thanks,” Liam said, gathering himself. 

“Have a good rest of your night, Liam,” Theo said as he walked into the house. 

Liam waited for a few minutes more before following, just enjoying the quiet garden after a loud and busy night. The camera flashes were still going on under his eyelids.

+++

For someone who had as busy and rigorous of a schedule as Liam sometimes did, he ran surprisingly well on little sleep. He usually went to sleep late and was up early the next day, so he was awake at five-fifteen and ready to go for the most part. He’d taken Ross’s advice to work out after the awards show and he was gearing up to get in his morning routine, but first, he went to the kitchen.

He used to make coffee for Hugh every morning, just a pick-me-up for the long day he had ahead of him, and he figured Theo wouldn’t be any different. If anything, now that the production of Ross’s current movie was in full swing, Theo would be running around with Ross on full alert a lot more than usual. Liam had just always thought of it as the least he could do, because even though he loved Ross, he knew he could be demanding even if Ross didn’t want to admit it. Hugh used to say that the coffee Liam made was one of the only things that made him want to stick around, only half-jokingly.

He was alone in the kitchen, since the chef that usually worked during the week had made to-go breakfasts already, so he was able to putter around by himself for a little while as he brewed a pot. He listened to the sound of the coffee dripping into the cup, just enjoying the peace for awhile.

He didn’t know how Theo took his coffee or if he did anything at all, so he opted to put a small bit of cream and a little more sugar, kind of like Hugh used to like it. 

Theo opened his door almost immediately after Liam knocked the first time, startling him, but he managed not to spill the coffee. “Hey,” Liam said, suddenly well aware that they were still mostly strangers. 

“Hi,” Theo said, buttoning the last button on a tight white shirt. “Do you need something?”

“No, I just came by to give you coffee,” Liam said, cringing at how awkward it sounded. Theo took it from him questioningly but not unhappily, tasting it and nodding. “I always used to bring coffee to Hugh in the mornings, so,” He trailed. “Sorry, I don’t know how you take it.”

“Thank you,” Theo said. “It’s a little light on the cream for my taste, but it’s good. Thank you.”

Liam was already making a mental note of it to put more cream in it the next morning when Ross came by. Ross wasn’t a morning person, as Liam had figured out, but he certainly pretended to be. “Good morning,” He said, kissing Liam on the cheek. “I see you’re both up and ready for the day, that’s good. What are you up to today?” Ross asked Liam. Liam vaguely remembered telling him about it before, but he pushed it back.

“I’m getting a workout in and then I have a shoot for Tom Ford,” Liam said. “That should take a few hours.”

Ross smiled and held onto his shoulder. “That’s great! I introduced you to those people, didn’t I?” Liam nodded, used to his spiel, not that Ross would have noticed the tiredness of it. “Right! This is what happens when you’ve got connections, babe!” Ross looked proud of himself. “I swear, you’re the luckiest fiancee in America with me.”

Theo was looking at Liam weirdly, Ross having decided that that was a fine time to end the conversation.  _ He talks like Liam isn’t capable of modeling on his own, _ Theo thought, but it wasn’t his place to speak. Liam clearly wasn’t thinking about it too hard - it was seemingly normal for him. “...So the coffee’s good?” He asked Theo instead after Ross walked off, and Theo nodded minutely.

+++

The wedding preparations were going well; they’d managed to book a venue not too far in advance, which was admittedly easier than it should’ve been considering who was requesting it. They were planning to have a small ceremony with a bigger reception party afterwards, the ceremony being in a nice, modern chapel where they’d be married by an accepting officiant and old friend of Ross’s. They were keeping it small for their close friends and family, not that Liam had much of the latter, but since they had a lot of friends being in their line of work, the party would be much larger. Liam was getting excited already.

It would be more exciting if Ross would help a little with the planning, but Liam understood that he was busy. Besides, Liam kind of liked the planning. It gave him something to think about other than his appearance, which he needed a lot of lately, and if drowning himself in color samples was the way to distract himself, he would take it. He was trying to decide on a grey and green or a grey and blue theme when he decided he was done for the night.

Ross was up in his office making a call, leaving Liam with nobody else to talk to, and in that moment, he missed having Hugh around a whole lot more. He used to talk to him all the time when he was bored and needed a friend. He figured maybe Theo would do the same, considering that he kept accepting his coffee and talked with him in general, so Liam cleaned up his paperwork and went to Theo’s suite to see if he was there. 

Liam knocked on the door, hearing music coming from inside, which shut off a minute later. He was surprised to see that Theo had answered the door without a shirt on, clearly sweating, a towel thrown over his shoulder. “Hey, sorry, I was just…bored,” Liam admitted, thinking he was sounding like a child more and more by the second. The difference between Hugh was that he was a relatable softie, and Theo seemed a whole lot more aloof and cool, which Liam couldn’t relate to as well. “Sorry to interrupt. Were you working out?” He asked.

“Uh, yeah. Just ab stuff,” Theo said. Liam had been trying not to notice his abs, but there they were. 

To avoid commenting something stupid like that, he glanced into Theo’s room, which was big, but so big that working out would be all comfortable. “We have a home gym,” Liam offered. 

“Oh, I know. Just wasn’t sure if I could go in it or if that was just for you guys,” Theo admitted with a shrug.

“Of course you can, go ahead,” Liam said, liking Theo’s thankful smile. Theo took his phone off the dresser and followed Liam to where he guided him, all the way to the other side of the large place to the gym. The place was an open, glass-walled room that showed everything that went on inside.

Theo seemed like a natural in there, looking around contentedly at all of the equipment they’d amassed over the years of being there. It was mostly Liam who used it, so a lot of it was because of him, so he knew how to use pretty much everything. Although looking at Theo, Liam didn’t think that was much of a problem for him. “So I’m guessing you put in a lot of work,” Theo said as he settled down onto one of the weight machines. “What’s your routine?”

Liam grinned. “Well, my stuff is a lot more for maintaining muscle and not gaining, so it’s probably different than what you do. It’s a lot of running, for one thing. Treadmills and all that.”

Theo was going to say something else when he caught sight of Ross standing in the doorway, looking interested but not all excited in what was going on. Liam turned back to him and smiled at his fiancee, who walked up behind him and put his hands on his hips. “Hi,” Ross said, kissing his neck. “What’s going on here?” He asked calmly, but Liam sensed a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

“Oh, I told Theo he could use the gym since there wasn’t a lot of room in his room,” Liam explained, going to lean against Ross’s back, but Ross was pulling away. He gave Liam a tight-lipped smile and nodded.

“Can I talk with you for a minute?” Ross asked. Liam raised an eyebrow but followed him out of the gym, aware that Theo could still see them through the glass wall, but Ross wasn’t thinking about that. 

“Is there something wrong?” Liam asked.

“I’m just wondering why you thought you could give him permission to use our gym,” Ross said coolly, looking down at Liam questioningly.

Liam was confused. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to be nice,” He said. “I wanted to do something to make it easier on him, since I thought he was here for both of us.”

“And he is,” Ross said firmly. “But he is still mine, first and foremost. I’m in the most danger day to day, so I get sole authority over him.” Liam briefly thought back to the time a few months back when he was mugged walking down the street after word got out that Liam had money, and the memory sent a shiver down his spine, but he didn’t expect Ross to remember. “Any permissions he gets goes through me from now on, understood?”

“...Understood,” Liam said, looking down at the floor and feeling immediately embarrassed. “So, should I tell him to leave, or what?”

Ross sighed. “No, now it’ll be awkward, he can stay. Just...don’t do it again, alright?”

“Alright,” Liam said, chewing on his lip. He waited until Ross put on a fake smile again and walked back into the gym, figuring it was best to follow. What he didn’t know was that Theo had overheard everything - part of his job was to have good hearing and pick up on things others couldn’t, so no matter how hushed Ross had tried to be, he’d heard it all. He’d seen the look on Liam’s face that even Liam hadn’t known he had, one of mortification and resignation. Liam’s smile wasn’t nearly as big and genuine when they walked back in.

“Feel free to use the gym whenever you want,” Ross said as if Liam needed his confirmation for his invitation. He watched as Ross turned to Liam, looking him up and down. A small, playful smirk came across Ross’s face, poking Liam in the belly. “Maybe you should do a little bit before bed, too,” He suggested. Liam put his hand where Ross had poked, rubbing to make sure there wasn’t actually anything there. 

Liam was clearly hurt as he glanced over at one of the machines, thinking about his body. Theo could already see the gears turning - he’d seen Liam eat carrots and celery in place of a meal just hours ago. “You look fine,” Theo said, unable to keep it down. He hated seeing Liam look concerned that way. “Don’t worry about it.”

Liam looked up at him in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting Theo to say anything, since most people didn’t. “...Thanks.”

He started on crunches a minute later anyway - Ross was probably right. He usually was.

+++

Liam was reminded what he put in all this hard work for when he was in front of a camera. Every time he posed, he was reminded of a time where he hadn’t looked quite so good, even if he was always an attractive guy, and was grateful he didn’t look that way anymore. Liam had been nice looking, but he wasn’t model-level until he started really putting in work.

He was doing a shoot for a new line of underwear for Calvin Klein, so the set was closed for the most part as he wore nothing but an array of different colored boxer shorts. The set being closed was going to be useless anyway, since he knew that in a few days, he would be all over billboards in California and pictures in Times Square, large black and white photos showing everything Liam had to offer in Calvin Klein’s name. He liked that; even though Ross was worse at hiding how protective and slightly jealous he was over other people seeing Liam’s body, it made him feel empowered.

This was a solo shoot with just Liam, and they had him in several positions. One of Liam’s favorites was laying on his side on a large white rectangle, flexing his legs and abs with his jawline clearly visible. He knew he looked good that way, and he smiled about it to himself between poses. Modeling was one of the only times he didn’t have to compete to be seen.

The head photographer called a fifteen minute break, and one of the assistants brought Liam over his grey silk robe. He looked at himself in a mirror, noticing that he still looked good with the robe untied and tight white boxers hugging him in all the right places. 

They’d called break because Ross and Theo were walking on set, and Liam realized then that he was half-naked in front of a new person, but Ross didn’t seem to mind, clearly not thinking that Theo was any kind of threat. Theo averted his eyes as soon as he noticed it too, looking up at the ceiling of the set instead, putting his hands on his hips and pretending he hadn’t seen him at all. “Hi, babe,” Ross greeted. Liam smiled as he kissed his cheek as he always did, but he was still amused by Theo looking anywhere but at him. “So, I just wanted to come by to tell you that I’m not going to be able to do the planning with you tonight, I have a night shoot.” 

Liam tamped down on the disappointment he felt. Even though he liked planning, Liam was starting to feel like he was the only one who cared about the wedding. For Ross it was seeming more and more like it was just another event that he had to show up to, approving plans here and there and making sure he was on time. “It’s okay,” Liam sighed, making it sound like he was being over-dramatic even though he had kind of been counting on Ross being there. “Are you sticking around for the rest of the shoot?” Liam asked to change the subject.

“Sure, why not!” Ross exclaimed, looking Liam up and down appreciatively. 

“Uh, do you want me to leave?” Theo asked, looking at Liam then, but fighting to keep eye contact.

Before Liam could get a word out, Ross spoke up. “No, you’re fine,” He said, but Theo was still looking at Liam, a question in his eyes.

He’d been thinking he was going to tell Theo to leave, but something about the way he’d waited for Liam’s answer instead of Ross’s changed his mind. “Stay,” He said, surprising both himself and Theo. “We’re about to start the next round,” He said more to Ross than Theo, heading back to his block.

Ross pulled up a chair to watch as Liam moved while Theo stayed standing, and Liam noticed how Theo was still trying not to look too closely at him. It was different - Ross never had any shame about ogling him, looking at him hungrily in the same way as he always did, like he couldn’t wait to have his way with him. Theo looked away every few seconds to stare at the ceiling or his shoes, shameful, like it was wrong. And it was wrong; it was wrong for Theo to look at him, and even more wrong for Liam to like it so much, but he felt  _ hot _ . He caught Theo’s eyes as he turned his head to the side for another shot, and caught the way Theo flinched and his gaze suddenly flitted elsewhere. Liam grinned as Theo swallowed.  _ Interesting _ . It was nice to have someone else looking at him for once, letting him know that he was in the right career.

He didn’t mention it when the shoot was over, since he and Theo were starting to be friends, after all. It was no different to him whether or not  _ Theo _ thought he was hot, since most of his friends thought the same, but he wasn’t admitting to himself that he had thought about it for a little longer than he needed to.

+++

That night, Liam was sitting at the marble counter island, all of the wedding planning papers spread out. They’d been organized in a system at one point, but now they were all scattered in a heap. At least Liam could still find his checklists.

He was looking through all the different types of flowers available from the florist he’d chosen, once again without Ross’s help. He figured that since they’d decided on a white and gold theme, nixing the grey altogether, that they should go with white lillies or white roses for the pews. He wondered absently what flowers Theo liked, and wondered if he should ask him about them. Probably not.

He’d been at it for hours while Ross was working, and he was starting to go numb with all of the choices he had to made. Still, there was so much to do. The wedding was in only two months, and Liam had barely gotten to the party planning yet. He was thinking about multitasking and looking over the flower selections on the elliptical, since he still had that to do too.

His train of thought was cut off when the front door opened and Theo and Ross stepped in. “How was work?” Liam asked when Ross went straight for the cold brew in the fridge. Ross just grunted in response, tired, and Liam laughed. Theo stood by. “Well, if it makes you feel any better to know, I booked two more shoots for this week and next.”

That perked Ross up. “Great!” He said, coming over to rub Liam’s hair. “I love seeing my investments pay off. Introducing you to Lydia was the best choice, she’s the best manager.” Ross walked off with his cup of coffee, completely content with himself as he said, “See what happens when you’ve got someone to make your career?”

Liam stared down at the shiny pictures of flowers, hearing Ross’s footsteps on marble floors in the distance as he walked towards his office. Theo was still standing nearby, and Liam didn’t know what to say. He felt tense from Theo looking at him. He rubbed his neck, resting his elbow on the countertop. “I’m just...trying to decide between flowers,” He murmured as an explanation, to what Liam didn’t even know. He just felt like he needed to break the silence.

Theo slid onto the barstool next to Liam’s. “He really shouldn’t talk to you that way,” Theo said like he had been waiting, no doubt in his tone. Liam looked up at him in surprise. No one had ever said that to him before, not about Ross. 

Liam knew that the way Ross talked to him wasn’t always the best, but after years of people staying silent about it, he’d started to think that he was just overreacting. No one had bothered to tell him anything but what he wanted to hear, not what he may have needed.

Theo really did see everything, Liam realized. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted him to.

Liam opened his mouth to say something in return, but he was quite literally speechless. He looked back down at the papers, waiting for Theo to continue, but he didn’t. Instead, Theo got up and started making a snack in the darkened kitchen.

He came to sit back down next to him a minute later, holding a plate of cheese and crackers. “Have you eaten today?” Theo asked. Liam glanced at the clock on the oven - 11:25.

“Not since lunch, it was big,” Liam explained. Theo motioned to his plate of crackers, but Liam shook his head. “I’m good.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to eat one or two,” Theo said. “A couple extra carbs don’t hurt anyone. They’re good.”

Liam grinned but shook his head again. “I’m on a special diet that…” Liam trailed off when he remembered who had set him up on said diet as a couples’ plan, figuring that it would be better not to talk about Ross in front of Theo again. 

Theo seemed to get the point anyway. “Yeah, well, I follow the guy around all day, and I can assure you that he isn’t loyal to his diet either,” Theo laughed, holding out a cracker to Liam. Liam looked at him for a second before taking it from his fingers, eating it in two bites to savor it. He did miss eating cheese sometimes - the calories were always too high, and Liam’s metabolism wasn’t that fast, so eating a lot of fat didn’t bode well during the busy modeling season. “Is it not terrible not being able to eat what you want anymore?” Theo asked, genuinely interested as he watched Liam enjoy the treat. “Cheese and crackers were a healthy snack for me as a kid. Isn’t it hard for you?”

Liam shook his head. “Not really,” He admitted. “It was hard at first, but it’s better for me not to. Both for me and my job. I feel better about myself and don’t feel sick all the time, and it keeps me in shape.”

“I just don’t see the appeal of modeling if it restricts you so much,” Theo said with a shrug, but didn’t seem judgmental about it. “I don’t think I could do it.”

Liam rolled his eyes lightheartedly. “Well, we aren’t all blessed with the natural ability to gain muscle like some kind of Greek God, Theo. Believe me, if I could eat all of what you do and stay as fit, I would,” Liam laughed. “...But I like modeling. It makes me feel good about myself. Just...knowing that I’m worthy of being one, I guess. Someone people want to look at, represent their brand with,” Liam said. That was why it brought him down whenever Ross implied something else, even though he’d been ignoring it for years. 

“Well, you are,” Theo said, taking a bite of his cracker. “Worthy, I mean. But when was the last time you had a burger?” Theo asked jokingly.

Liam grinned. “Last Friday for dinner, you were there. You were the one who bought it for me.”

Theo stared at him, unconvinced. “Whole burger.”

At that, Liam couldn’t help but laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. He’d gotten into the habit of leaving half to eat for leftovers. “Oh,  _ whole _ burger?” He asked, grimacing a little. “Agh, God, probably college? Before I started modeling?” Liam said, uncertain. Theo winced dramatically like he’d been punched in the stomach, and Liam chuckled.

“Ooh, we have to change that soon. Mark my words, I’m going to get you to eat a whole burger. Or three-quarters of one,” Theo said. “You have been missing the privilege for too long.”

Liam laughed, and without thinking about it, popped another one of Theo’s crackers into his mouth. Theo raised his eyebrows and grinned. “So...say you were getting married. White lilies or white roses on the pews?” Liam asked. 

“Mmm...lilies,” Theo said, this time not saying anything else about Ross or Liam’s relationship. Liam pushed it to the side again, but as he marked lilies down as the choice flower, Theo’s words were harder to bury away. Speaking something into existence, especially coming from someone else, was a lot different than ignoring his own feelings.

They spent almost the rest of the night eating cheese and crackers and talking about all the foods Theo was going to get Liam to eat someday, and Liam couldn’t help but feel like he wanted to make those plans.

Even if there was still the dark feeling in the pit of his stomach.

+++

One Saturday, about a week after Theo and Liam talked in the kitchen, Liam was sitting in his room scrolling through his instagram. His shots for Calvin Klein had come out well, and he looked at them proudly. They’d made him look really good.

It was a lazy afternoon, and since Liam had already worked out and gotten his calendar lined up for future shoots, he wasn’t planning on doing much. Ross had off that day too, since only minor characters were needed for that day of shooting, but the two of them were in their separate rooms as usual. Ross would probably be on the phone with someone or want to be alone anyway, so Liam didn’t consider going to bother him.

Theo was the savior to his boredom, knocking on his door in the middle of the day. “Come in,” Liam said absently, assuming it was Ross, but Theo surprised him. “Oh. Hi,” He said.

“ Hey,” Theo said, sounding slightly hesitant, leaning on the doorframe. “Sorry to bother. I was just wondering if you had any errands to run that you need company with since Ross dismissed me for the day.” Liam found that he was actually disappointed not to have anything to take care of, but Theo continued. “Or we could just take a walk or something if you felt like getting out of the house.” Now that was something Liam would jump at.

Liam grinned at him and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go,” He agreed easily, hopping off his bed and following Theo to the front door. 

They walked across the large, professionally-manicured lawn (careful to keep on the front path - Ross would throw a fit if they walked across the grass) and made their way down the quiet street. Liam and Ross’s house was large, but Ross owned all the land around it so that it was rather separate from the rest of the town. That didn’t mean paparazzi weren’t around, always right at the property line once it was legal for them to snap pictures again. Some of them were disappointed when they just saw Liam, but a few of them kept going.

“That doesn’t bother you?” Theo asked, motioning to them. “I can tell them to leave.”

“Nah,” Liam said with a shrug. “I’ve gotten used to it.” He looked around the tall trees and bright green grass as they were starting to get closer to the shops in one of Liam’s favorite corners of the town. “Did you get Ross’s ‘okay’ for this?” He asked out of curiosity.

Theo looked down at him, slightly amused. “I have your’s,” He said, clearly not caring about the alternative, and Liam left it at that. He’d just have to explain to Ross later what they were doing, which was another thing he’d gotten used to.

Liam had been trying not to talk about Ross with Theo all that much, even though he was his fiancee’s bodyguard, after all. The truth was, he hadn’t stopped thinking about what Theo said, and wondering what it all meant. He wondered if other people saw it before, how Ross tended to treat him when he was feeling a certain way, and although Liam didn’t mind it for the most part, he was beginning to wonder if it was true. He wondered if people had just been pretending not to notice, or on the other hand, if Ross’s behavior had been getting worse lately.

It was hard to think about, because he owed so much to Ross. It was true that he owed his career to Ross for the most part - he would have never gotten this far without him. He didn’t want to see the sour parts of their relationship, so he simply didn’t. He wore rose-colored glasses around him. Theo just happened to be the one to try to take them off for a second, and it was rather rattling.

But he liked being around Theo. Even though he had lots of celebrity friends and a fiancee, things got lonely, and it was nice to have someone who he didn’t just want to talk about work with. They were starting to become friends, and Liam was grateful for that, so he didn’t stay away from him. 

“What?” Theo asked, and Liam noticed that he’d been staring at Theo rather thoughtfully as they made it closer to town. He still had that ever-present hint of amusement in his tone, so Liam smiled and shrugged. 

“Where are we going?” He asked, looking around.

It was Theo’s turn then to shrug. “I don’t know. I know you like the garden, so I thought you’d like the flowers ahead,” He said. Liam grinned to himself as they walked into the little plaza with small shops, and like Theo had said, a large array of the newly-sprouted spring flowers. They were pansies, kind of like the ones in Liam’s own garden, and came in blues, pinks, and oranges. Liam stood in front of the planter boxes in awe. He had always had a thing for flowers.

It felt good to get out of the house and do something so human. Nobody seemed to recognize him at first, leaving him to just be a normal guy for a minute or two, until a girl around eighteen or nineteen came up to him and Theo. Theo looked attentive, waiting for Liam to tell him to handle it, but Liam wasn’t like his fiancee when it came to fans. Not when he wasn’t alone, at least.

“Oh my God,” The girl said, sounding awestruck. Liam smiled at her. “You’re Ross Blake’s fiancee!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam saw Theo glance at him, looking thoughtful, but without a beat, Liam said “That’s me!” He ignored the way Theo’s eyebrow raised. The girl squealed excitedly and held out her phone.

“Can I get a picture with you?” She asked, despite not knowing Liam’s name. Liam said yes anyway, posing for a shot with her. “Thank you so much. You’re so lucky to be marrying Ross,” She gushed, looking at the ring on Liam’s finger. 

“So I’ve been told,” Liam said, laughing.  _ Mostly by Ross himself. _ “It was good meeting you.”

“You too!” The girl said as she skittered away, already furiously typing on her phone. Liam stood still for a minute, looking over the planter boxes and taking a deep breath. 

They started walking again, silently, until Theo spoke up. 

“You’re your own person,” Theo said. Just a simple statement in the air. They settled down onto a bench when Theo stopped walking, leaving Liam looking confused.

“Yeah,” Liam agreed slowly, wondering what he was talking about. “I know.”

“I’m sorry. I know I’m not as well versed in your life as you are, obviously. I just think it kind of sucks that people call you that instead of your name,” He admitted. Liam’s stomach dropped. Theo really did see things that others didn’t, and it was starting to stress him out just a little. “You’re Liam.”

“...Thank you,” Liam said, not sure how else to go about it. It felt weird to be so noticed, even by someone that he knew already, but not altogether bad.

“...I knew about Liam Dunbar before I knew about Ross Blake. I just thought you should know that.”

+++

As the weeks went by leading up to Ross and Liam’s wedding, Liam sought Theo out more and more as Ross was getting more tense. Usually his fiancee was arrogant at the worst of times, but he was a whole different person under pressure. He was snippy with people and with Liam, and was hard to be around sometimes. 

Liam knew that it would pass after the wedding and everything else was over. Ross’s movie was almost done shooting, but there were still some major scenes and a lot of work that he needed to film and put in time for, and the wedding was getting closer by the minute. Liam was just keeping in mind that soon enough, in only a few days, they’d be married and take their honeymoon to Aruba, where Ross would be able to unwind. After that, everything would be good again.

He was still excited about marrying Ross, of course, but he wasn’t blind to how Ross was being. He was choosing to distance himself from it, because Liam being stressed out stressed  _ Ross _ out, and it would be a vicious cycle if he was around too much. He just tried to tune it out.

At least he had someone around to talk to instead, now. Theo was pretty much his closest friend by then, and after they went to see the flowers a few weeks back, Liam had been talking to him a lot more. He was so grateful that Theo was there, especially now that tensions were so high in the house. Theo was pretty much the only reason Liam hadn’t gone insane by now.

Liam was hiding out in his room one night, still able to hear Ross slamming things around in the kitchen like he did when he was frustrated, putting things down too hard on the counter and slamming the fridge door shut, sending the noise all around the house. Liam was trying to tune him out with music as he sat on the floor, but a knock came from the door. It was too calm to be Ross, so Liam let Theo in without hesitation, shutting his music off. “Hey,” Theo said, stepping in and shutting the door. Liam just smiled tiredly up at him as he got down to sit next to him, both of them leaning against the wall. “Tired?”

“Yeah,” Liam admitted with a sigh, tilting his head back and staring at the ceiling. “You?”

“Of course,” Theo snorted softly, like the answer was obvious. “He’s been...how do I put it delicately?”

“Don’t bother,” Liam said sleepily, shrugging. “He’s been a complete bitch the past few days. It’s just stress, I guess. Wedding planning and all that.”

Theo sighed. “But didn’t you do all that planning?” He asked, as always pointing something out that Liam didn’t want to see. Still, Liam nodded.

“You know what I’m saying,” He said as a weak argument. Theo didn’t push it. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you having to follow him around on his frustrated, mean rampage all day.”

“Hey, I’m not the one marrying him,” Theo said, looking down at Liam. “Honestly, I really don’t know what you see in him, Liam.”

Liam smiled to himself softly. “...It’s hard to explain exactly why I love him,” Liam said. He’d never been able to put it into something concrete why he was marrying Ross, it was just something that happened naturally. There wasn’t a lot keeping him from it, so he figured it was the right thing to do. “He’s...an acquired taste, I’ll admit.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve never acquired that taste,” Theo said. “I know he’s your fiancee and all and it’s different for you, but...damn.”

Liam sat up a little straighter. He knew he was going to regret asking the question, but it had been pressing against his throat for weeks. “Why don’t you like Ross so much?” He asked, throwing out the barrier he’d been trying to keep between his friend and his fiancee. Theo raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.

“You really want to know?” He asked. Liam nodded, looking at him straight on. “...Alright. He’s just…” He seemed like he couldn’t figure out how to say it at first. “Let’s just say that if I was lucky enough, which I’m not, to have a man like you as my fiancee, I would sure as hell not talk to you like he does.” Liam blinked at him, taken aback both by the statement and the weird, unknown feeling that it put in his chest. “He  _ diminishes _ you so much. I know you, and you’re not just ‘Ross Blake’s fiancee’ or the model guy. You’re the idiot who likes cheese and crackers no matter how much you say you don’t, and the one who sits in the garden just to look at the flowers. He doesn’t treat you like a fiancee should. A fiancee should be able to see that. He treats you like ‘Ross Blake’s fiancee,’ and that’s all I’ve seen from him in the time I’ve been here.” 

Liam stared at him, stunned, as Theo looked into his eyes with complete honesty, unafraid that he’d gone too far. Somewhere in the kitchen, glass broke and a curse was heard, probably from Ross slamming a glass down too hard just like Liam had been afraid of. Liam flinched and shut his eyes, looking back towards the front and taking a deep breath. 

They were quiet for a few minutes, listening to Ross stomp around the house, spurred on by the anger of hurting himself with the glass. Liam wondered if Ross was going to be like this whenever something was high-tension. Never in their five year relationship did he act like this, but it had been consistent for almost a whole week. Little jabs here and there at whoever was around, and acting like the world was out to get him was commonplace.

Ross shut a door too hard, probably the one to the master bedroom, and Liam couldn’t help but sigh. He chose to forget for a minute the facts that Theo was trying to tell him.

“...I’m really glad you’re here, you know,” Liam said about a half an hour later, the two of them having been just soaking up the quiet time on the floor. Theo smiled at him then, now as tired as Liam was, with his eyes shut. “You remember the time we went on a walk to see the flowers? Down by that coffee shop?”

“Yeah?” Theo said, opening his eyes in concern at Liam’s small tone.

Liam exhaled long and deep. “Well, that was one of the first times in a long time that I’d been out of the house just to do nothing at all,” He admitted. “I’d still go out and stuff, but mostly when I had somebody with me or if I was already going somewhere for a job, but I didn’t go out just for fun.” Theo was looking at him closely, analyzing him again. This time, Liam didn’t even mind. “About a year into me and Ross’s relationship, I got mugged while I was out trying to get food. I didn’t get hurt, but the guy was big and could have knocked me out,” He followed up quickly with Theo’s intake of breath. “I don’t talk about it much because no one really cared to listen after awhile, but I never felt safe just walking around after that.”

Theo was speechless for a second. His jaw was clenched, clearly biting back anger. “I’m so sorry,” He said, trying for earnest but sounding more upset. 

“It’s been lonely,” Liam admitted. “I hadn’t expected fame to be this way, but it’s true. I can’t go anywhere or see anybody without being made a big deal of or being afraid of an attack, and I fell out of touch with the friends I’d had in college. But you’re always here,” Liam said, looking up at Theo. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like I can actually talk to someone about everything and they won’t try to sugarcoat it for me like I’m stupid. And I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“You never have to thank me for that,” Theo said, sounding almost a little breathless. “You never have to thank me for being there for you.”

Liam smiled softly. He heard Ross outside, berating their chef that he had already kept late, and Liam cringed. He couldn’t help it; he leaned into Theo’s side, resting his head on Theo’s broad shoulder and taking in the smell of his cologne, wrapping his arms around one of Theo’s biceps. “...You make me feel  _ safe _ ,” He said.

Liam heard Theo breathe in deep before resting his head right on top of Liam’s, letting him stay close.

And Liam knew it was true, what he told Theo. True and important enough that he briefly tried to recall when he’d ever talked to Ross this way, knowing he’d come up empty.

+++

Theo and Liam kept catching each other’s eyes the day before the wedding. Liam assumed it was just about the way that Ross was acting, since that was really the only thing Liam could focus on. He was growing tired of his snippy tone and attitude whenever someone dared to talk about him, and no amount of cheek kisses and tired praise from him could fix it. 

Liam was debating saying something about it, knowing that usually, it was better to leave Ross alone to work it out himself when he got upset, and the wedding was tomorrow. He’d probably be over it by then, having all of the stress melt away once the big part was done with. Honestly, Liam was just as happy for his wedding to be over before it had even started, which he knew he wasn’t supposed to feel about such an occasion, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He just couldn’t stop thinking about how peaceful it might be after it was all over.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t hard, especially as Ross got increasingly strict with the staff they had in the house. Liam knew all of them personally and always tried to treat them with the respect they deserved, thankful that they were providing such a service all the time. Ross didn’t share that same philosophy, and if he did, he had a hell of a way of showing it. 

Liam could live with the digs at him, but once Ross had started really mistreating their staff, he’d started grinding his teeth and biting his tongue. He let most of it slide, shooting apologetic looks to whoever Ross had been rude to as he followed his future husband around the house, cleaning up his messes, but things were starting to go too far.

Theo always said something to Liam when Ross was being horrible to him. It was time that Liam said something as well.

It was almost midnight when Liam walked by Ross’s bedroom to hear him yelling at one of their maids, who was clearly close to tears, like he had no reservations at all for how she felt. She was a small woman named Sarah, who had two kids at home and was one of the strongest women Liam had ever met, so seeing her cry made him see red. He walked right into the room, grabbed Ross by the elbow as he continued to sling insults at her, and pulled him out of the room into the hallway.  _ “What?”  _ He snapped, reeling on Liam one Sarah managed to escape. 

Liam clenched his teeth. “Ross-”

“What do you want, Liam?”

“You need to calm the fuck down!” Liam shouted over him, for once raising his voice. Ross’s eyes burned with cold, sharp anger. “You’ve gone completely off the rails this week! I get that things are stressful, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to treat people with respe-”

A sharp, stinging hit followed, the noise deafening to Liam’s ears along with his own gasp as he reached up to cover where Ross had touched him. The skin was painful to the touch and it had tears coming to Liam’s eyes as soon as he registered it. He didn’t have long to recover, not even able to stand up straight before Ross was grabbing him by the chin tightly with one hand.

“You clearly don’t know  _ shit _ about respect,” Ross growled, squeezing too tight on his jaw. “Don’t you  _ ever _ speak to me that way again, understand?”

  
Liam could do nothing but nod tightly in Ross’s hold, waiting desperately for him to release him. As soon as Ross’s hand was off, Liam reached up to touch again and turned around, heading anywhere else as Ross went back into his bedroom.

Hot tears stung the backs of Liam’s eyes as he sped towards the garden, falling onto his cheeks as he pulled the back door open. He gasped for fresh air as soon as he collapsed onto the stone bench that he’d occupied so many times before, feeling numb and completely stunned. Out of everything, Ross had never laid a  _ finger _ on him before.

_ “Before” _ was such an odd concept to him now, Liam realized as he started to cry, his brain suddenly overwhelmed. He barely remembered the day he met Ross, back when Ross was still rich but only B-list in the Hollywood world and Liam was just a broke college kid who didn’t have anywhere to go. Ross had basically taken him under his wing, gotten him a small modeling job after convincing him to do it, and they had been dating since six months after they met. Liam moved into the mansion as soon as they hit their one-year anniversary, he dropped out of college and started making money, and he finally had someone to call family after losing his parents years back. He’d grown to love Ross, and he owed everything to him now. He knew that, even as the sting on his skin was still angry and apparent.

He hadn’t even gotten time to think about what Theo would say if he found out when he heard the backdoor wrench open behind him, and he was suddenly next to him. Theo took his face in his hands without a word, looking panicked.  _ “Fuck,”  _ He breathed, running his thumb over the red mark that Ross’s hand had made. “I’ll kill him. I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Theo-” Liam choked out, shaking his head. He grabbed Theo’s wrists and took his hands off his face, but Theo grabbed his back, firm but not hard, like he was afraid Liam was going to disappear. “It’s fine, I’m fine. He’s never done that before, he’s just stressed,” Liam tried to explain, but Theo was shaking his head frantically. “It barely hurts anymore, it’s fine!”

“You have a  _ handprint _ on your face, Liam,” Theo argued, searching Liam’s face for any trace of thought. “He grabbed you hard.”

Some hysterical, hurt part of Liam almost wanted to laugh. So he had seen it happen, too. He would never, ever hear the end of this. Liam pulled his hands out of Theo’s grasp and turned away from him, but Theo only followed, desperate for Liam to meet his eyes.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Theo rushed out, making Liam punch out a sigh as he tried to keep his tears in. “You hear me? He will  _ never _ deserve you. You deserve so much better than him, you deserve  _ everything _ .”

Liam shook his head, tears falling freely. Theo’s hand was a lot softer on his face than Ross’s had been, trying to get him to look at him, but Liam couldn’t open his eyes. “Theo, I can’t-”

“You can,” Theo breathed. “You can leave him. We’ll both leave, we’ll go together, I’ll take you somewhere else. I  _ love _ you,” Theo said, and Liam both laughed and sobbed at the same time, leaning into Theo’s touch as he shook his head. Theo’s voice shook. “I  _ do _ , I love you. I want to kiss you so badly, take you so far away from here where you’ll never have to see him again, you can’t tell me you don’t feel that too.”

“No,” Liam croaked, but he knew then with a cracking, sinking feeling in his heart that he did, paired bitterly with the fact that he couldn’t do anything about it. He was crying too hard for Theo to be convinced anyway. He was basically thrashing as he shook his head, never knowing which one of them he was trying to convince. 

“Liam, please,” Theo begged, crying too. “Please, please, please-”

“I c-can’t,” Liam cried again, shaking his head and wiping the tears off his face as he tried to calm down. All he wanted was to reach out and touch him, let Theo wrap him in a hug, but he knew if he did, he’d never be able to let go. “I-I’m getting married, Theo!” He exclaimed, trying to pull himself back to the surface. “Tomorrow, I’m getting married tomorrow!”

“But you want to,” Theo said, holding onto his shoulders. “You want to be with me.”

“It doesn’t  _ matter _ what I want!” Liam shouted through a broken voice, standing up. Theo looked up at him, tears finally starting to fall. The garden rang quiet, Liam’s chest heaving and Theo staring up at him with wet eyes. 

This was his life. This was all he had known for the past five years, and the life he had been planning to live contentedly before Theo had shown up. He had never wished Theo away more than he did in that moment, but in the same way, he wished he would have met him under different circumstances.

Theo took in a shaky breath. “I’m sorry,” He said, looking away from Liam and biting his lip. He sniffed as he walked back into the house, leaving Liam alone in the garden to put his head in his hands until his palms were both soaked with tears.

That night, Ross apologized to him before Liam went to bed. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s all the wedding planning,” He said, sounding exhausted. 

“But didn’t you do all that planning?”

“It’s okay,” Liam whispered, letting Ross kiss him on the head as he pushed down the feeling of nausea.

The wedding was in fourteen hours, but as he laid next to Ross for the first time in awhile, all he could think about was Theo.

+++

“Don’t,” Liam said as firmly as he could as a demand as soon as Theo slipped through his cracked bedroom door.

Liam had crept out of Ross’s room and back into his own after two hours of being unable to fall asleep, never happier that they had separate rooms until now. He sat at his vanity, eyes puffy and trying to fix himself. His hair was a mess from running his fingers through it and tossing and turning, and his skin was blotchy and red from the crying. It wouldn’t suit him well on his wedding day. His wedding day, where he’d be married to the guy he...he loved. He had to be perfect, nothing else could spoil this day. 

So when he caught sight of Theo out of the corner of his eye, he made it clear that he wasn’t going to talk to him. He was moments away from throwing Theo out himself when Theo held up his hands in surrender. Theo had clearly been crying too, his feeble attempts at cleaning himself up having been as unsuccessful as Liam’s. “I’m not here to tell you not to marry him,” He said in a low tone, keeping in mind that Ross was only a few rooms away. “That’s your choice.” Theo took a deep breath, looking at Liam, although it was hard for both of them. “But it just occurred to me that there are cameras in this house. Cameras that Ross is too dumb to check and too dumb to delete footage off of, that would have picked up every time he hurt you. So if you’re worried about people not believing you, you don’t have to be. I’m just saying that you don’t have to get married. You don’t have to settle for...for this. That’s all.” Theo’s voice was cracking by the end, sounding raspier than normal as he walked out. Liam tried to stop the tears falling from his eyes. “There are always other people out there for you.”

His heart ached to call out to him as Theo shut the door behind him, but his brain shut him up so it was nothing but a noise caught in his throat. The clock read three in the morning, telling him that in less than twelve, he’d be on his way to the chapel. There was no more time.

+++

Liam was trying desperately to keep a smile on his face as he stood at the altar, holding the hands of the man who would be his husband in just a few minutes, because he was supposed to be happy - and he was, on some level. He’d dreamed about this day all his life, maybe not in such complicated terms, but his wedding had always been something he’d looked forward to. Now that it was finally here, why wouldn’t he feel a little giddy about it?

There just happened to be the other half of himself, the stronger half, that was overcome by complete grief. Everything felt surreal. The walls of this chapel felt too tall, like they were closing in on him, the ornate carpet under his feet made him want to trip with every step he took, and it was hard to focus on Ross’s eyes. It was hard to believe that after this, his name would be Liam Blake, just like it was supposed to be from the first time they met.

And the pews had white lilies on them, the flowers Theo had chosen when Liam couldn’t decide. They looked beautiful sitting there, but Liam couldn’t help but think that they would have looked better somewhere else. The aura of the room made them look waxy and wilted. That wasn’t what either of them had been imagining when Theo picked them out.

Theo. He must feel terrible, having had to go to this wedding after what happened the night before. Expecting to throw a sympathetic look his way, Liam found that when he looked around, Theo was nowhere to be seen. Panic shot into his gut; he was supposed to be there, why wasn’t he there? 

“Where’s Theo?” He whispered to Ross before the ceremony officially started, the last bits of the march fading out.

Ross shrugged. “He said he was sick. It’s a shame.”

Liam swallowed against the heavy feeling in his throat. At least if Theo was there, he would have had someone in his corner. 

He remembered that he and Ross had decided early on to take the objection part of the wedding out, “too much awkward silence,” as Ross had put it, and that had seemed like a good plan at first. However, part of Liam, buried deep but digging its way up to the surface, had been hoping that Theo was going to save him from this. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t there and he wouldn’t be able to.

Their officiant started to speak, but Liam’s mind was running a mile a minute. If Theo wasn’t there, would anyone else have objected? Would any of them object if they knew what went on behind closed doors, all the harsh words and subtle jabs, or was Theo making it all up? Was Liam being dramatic, just like Ross always said he was?

Liam could still feel where Ross had hit him less than twenty-four hours before, the sting of his hand a phantom pain.

Everyone stayed politely silent, just people attending a wedding, but silence had never seemed so fatal to him.

Ross’s hands squoze his a little tighter, but they didn’t feel the same as how Theo had held him the night before. Liam hadn’t been listening to what the officiant was saying, but he’d been able to pick up enough context to say “I do” numbly. This was really it, wasn’t it? Ross’s brown eyes were warm, but he couldn’t feel anything but the knowledge that he was signing his life away, and there was nothing he could do about it. The rings were about to be slipped on, and after that, it would all be over.

But the chapel door flew open, Theo looking somehow large in the huge doorway as the door hit the wall with a resounding boom. All heads turned to him, Ross’s in confusion as Liam’s breath caught in his throat.  _ This wasn’t happening, it was all fake. He’d passed out at the altar- _

“Stop!” Theo croaked out, just loud enough for Liam to hear it. He had tears in his eyes, and Liam’s lips parted on their own in shock.  _ This wasn’t happening. _ “I know I told you I wasn’t going to stop you, but I- Don’t marry him,” Theo pleaded. Two of the replacement guards at the doors grabbed each of his arms, trying to get him out as Ross grew angry at the interruption. “I’ve seen how he talks to you, what he does to you, you don’t need this. You don’t need this in your life, Liam, believe me! Please!”

_ “Enough!” _ Ross shouted, and Liam watched in horror as the guards tightened their grip on Theo’s arms. 

“You know what we have is real, Liam. Don’t marry him,” Theo said, having stopped fighting against the men trying to pull him out. They held him there, letting everything stand still in the air. Everyone was dead silent as Ross turned back to Liam.

“What is he talking about, Li?” He asked softly, rubbing circles into the backs of his hands, but the movement was anything but comforting. Liam shook his head, unable to speak. “You want to marry me, don’t you, baby?” Ross leaned closer to him. “Remember everything I’ve done for you…”

Something in Liam’s chest snapped, feeling like pieces had fallen into place. Suddenly, he was able to slip his hands out of Ross’s, who looked down at them as realization and confusion started to take over his face. “ _ I… _ ”

“Liam…” Ross pleaded quietly, but the tears blurring Liam’s vision were starting to fall, and he was sure that if he didn’t get out right then, he would black out right there.

“I-I can’t,” He said, loud enough to make people gasp. 

He barely felt his feet on the floor as he broke into a run out of the chapel, pushing past everyone in his way, including Theo. Their shoulders brushed together, but Liam didn’t look back, running as far as he could before he thought he would collapse with the black spots in his vision.

He managed to get to the courtyard of the chapel before he fell onto a bench, putting his head in his hands and letting sobs take over as he realized what he had just done. His chest fell up and down with half-breaths that only made Liam’s head hurt more, unable to breathe.  _ What had he done, what was he going to do-? _

“Hey,” Theo breathed frantically, sitting down onto the bench with him a second later. “You’re okay, you’re fine,” He tried to comfort, but that wasn’t what Liam was looking for, not after everything.

He pulled Theo’s face in with his hands and kissed him hard, Theo freezing with surprise for a second before groaning and kissing him back just as fervently. Liam’s arms wrapped around Theo’s neck, desperately needing to get closer as he kissed him until they both couldn’t breathe. Flavored with salty tears and the last month’s worth of things gone unsaid, Liam had to break away, overwhelmed, just to cry. 

Theo held him tight to his chest, both of them clutching at each others’ suit jackets. Liam sobbed into his shoulder, for what he wasn’t even sure anymore, and Theo let him. He let him cry on his shoulder until his head ached and his throat was raw, whispering everything Liam needed to hear into his ear. “It’s okay, you’re okay,” He reminded softly, stroking Liam’s hair as he trembled. “We’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Promise?” Liam asked shakily. He felt Theo smile against his neck as he kissed there, sending both heat and comfort deep into his bones. 

“I promise,” Theo whispered, and Liam had never believed him more. As paparazzi found them and started snapping shots of them, Theo turned Liam’s face away from them into his shoulder so that they wouldn’t see him cry, even then protecting him.

When Liam stopped shaking so hard, having no tears left to cry, Theo rubbed his hair and kissed his ear. “Come on,” He whispered softly, holding Liam somehow tighter. “We’ve got things to think about, but for now...let’s get a hotel room somewhere, hm?”

Liam laughed wetly against his shoulder and nodded, letting Theo guide him up. Liam held onto him tight as they walked away, down through the stone path of the courtyard and out into a life that was already looking up.

No matter how uncertain it was.

+++

  
  


Liam woke up two months later next to Theo, the feeling of soft kisses still lingering on his skin from the night before. He smiled softly in the darkness of early morning, watching as Theo slept peacefully, one arm behind his head and his hair loose and undone across the pillow. Liam sat on the edge of their bed for a few minutes, just taking in the quiet morning air.

After Liam had left Ross, he’d gotten his own assets and earnings straight, and he was able to buy them an open-plan penthouse apartment on a private high-rise. It wasn’t as big as his old place, it being basically all one large room, but Liam adored living there with Theo. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed simple life until they walked into that apartment together after about a week of living in their hotel room, Liam’s arms wrapped onto Theo’s middle as they looked the place over. He still smiled at the memory of having his own place, and one that he could share with the guy he really, truly loved.

He had been worried about Theo finding a job after he’d obviously been fired from being Ross’s bodyguard, afraid that Theo would be unhappy and restless after life started to settle in, but it wasn’t a problem. Theo got a job pretty quickly working as a bouncer at a club for a few hours on the weekends. It paid well, and it was a source of jokes between them - in Theo’s words, he wasn’t able to find a job as anyone else’s bodyguard because nobody wanted him to “swoop in and steal their fiancee away” like he did with Liam. To that, Liam always laughed and kissed him, saying that he was glad he did.

Always, _always_ glad he did.

It was harder at first to book jobs modeling once his name wasn’t attached to Ross’s - he had kind of blackballed himself for the first few weeks - but once celebrity news magazines and outlets started getting more details of the story, Liam’s name was all over the place, and the publicity ended up being great. He was still making his money, and was a lot happier doing it. Theo was proud of him whenever he booked something, and insisted they hung up prints of Liam’s shoots on the walls. They had multiple black and white shots of him above their bed as well as the other, non-professional photos they took together.

In fact, pictures were one of the first things they put up when they got to the apartment, because they didn’t have much in the way of furniture at first. “Are you serious?” Liam had lightheartedly groaned, watching as Theo stood on a folding chair to hang one of Liam’s Calvin Klein pictures on the wall. They only had a blow-up mattress and some fold out chairs at that point, so seeing him hang up a picture frame made Liam smile at how ridiculous his boyfriend was. 

“Beautiful things belong in the beautiful apartment,” Theo said in response - Liam hadn’t known until then how sappy Theo could be, and he loved it - and finished hanging it up. The frame was slightly crooked, but they fixed it later when they put up more pictures. Before the penthouse even had plates and forks, glass frames were arranged all above their bed of things like the flowers in the square Theo had taken him to and the picture Theo had taken of Liam when they were both in bed together at the hotel. Liam loved each and every one of them, no matter how much he said it was odd. Theo knew he did too.

Their home now really felt like a place Liam wanted to come back to at the end of the day. They lived as simply and peacefully as they could with what little they had, slowly building themselves up.

They went furniture shopping and refused to make the penthouse look anything like the modern horror of Ross’s house that Liam had once thought he enjoyed. They painted the walls different colors until they finally found ones bright enough to match their new beginning. They made the place their own with little knick-knacks and plants, as far away from minimalistic as they could get.

But it wasn’t just the house that made a home. Liam was finally coming home to a place he wanted to be, knowing he would see Theo inside. The first bit of him that he saw when he walked through the door set his heart beating faster every time, and Theo would always come and really kiss him, really pay attention to him. It was soft touch and blatant, admiring staring all the time from him, and Liam couldn’t enjoy it more. He never came home expecting to find someone arrogant there, and he never did. Theo loved him for him, and Liam was so lucky to have found that.

And it was fun getting to know his boyfriend even more than he already had. For example, Theo actually was a great chef and cooked dinner for them all the time, and taught Liam how to make food too, which he’d never learned how to do. Liam remembered as he walked into the kitchen that morning when Theo helped him cut up an onion.

“Let me remind you that my high school home life wasn’t great, and after that I was even a broke college kid with no access to kitchen utensils or a guy who had a personal chef on call all the time,” Liam had said when Theo laughed at him for not knowing how to chop an onion properly when he tried to help, a blush coming onto his cheeks. When Theo made fun of him, he knew he was never serious.

“Here, let me help you,” Theo had said, the last hints of laughter fading out as he stood behind Liam. He placed his hands over his and helped him cut everything properly, so they had an admittedly haphazardly-cut but decent onion to boil in the chicken soup Theo was making. Liam had smiled up at him, leaning back onto Theo’s chest until Theo kissed the smile right off of his lips. 

That was just one of the moments they shared together. They’d done so much more in the last two months than he and Ross had done in almost six years, so many more moments that Liam counted until he stopped comparing them at all. There was no need to anymore; he wouldn’t trade Theo for anyone.

He gasped lightly when he felt arms wrap around his middle. He’d zoned out, staring at the countertop as he was thinking, but Theo brought him right back. Liam’s hands covered Theo’s, his thumbs brushing over Theo’s intertwined fingers. “You’re up early,” Theo murmured into the back of his neck, resting his head there. “Sun’s not even up yet.”

“Sorry I woke you up,” Liam said, but Theo shook his head. “No, you had a long shift last night, I should’ve been more quiet.”

“I don’t mind,” Theo said. “Gives me an extra opportunity to do this.” He kissed at Liam’s neck, knowing already that it would drive him crazy. “Come back to bed, he whispered, voice still scratchy from sleep, and Liam didn’t take much convincing.

As he fell back into bed, Theo’s lips making their way all over his body as he started to burn with heat, Liam knew for sure that this was where he was supposed to be: in his apartment, 4:38 in the morning, with Theo right there with him.

**Author's Note:**

> TW: There is one point in this story in which Ross hits Liam across the face and grabs him by the chin, but other than that, no physical harm is portrayed in this fic. 
> 
> +++
> 
> Thank you for reading!!  
> I wrote this in about three days, I was really on a roll with this one, and it ended up being around 28 pages long by the time i finished! This was an idea that I've been playing around with for months, so I'm not sure where I got it, but I'm really glad that I was finally able to write it in a way I liked. I hope you guys liked it too - tell me what your favorite part was! I think the most fun one to write was when Theo was hanging out with Liam and they got into those deep conversations...those are my favorite.
> 
> ALSO, on another note, my school has been shut down due to the COVID-19 quarantine, which basically means that apart from online schoolwork, I'm on a summer schedule. Expect me to keep posting, and let me know if you want to see something in particular, let me know in the comments or by shooting me a message on tumblr :)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> tumblr: grenadinepeach


End file.
